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The Best of Clint Eastwood's Movies

Clint Eastwood made his name as a movie star in spaghetti Westerns, such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," and as a badass in the "Dirty Harry" series, but as he got older, he became an Academy Awards darling as well, churning out award winners like "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" year after year.

Now, he's poised once again to receive award season kudos for his thought provoking film "Hereafter," starring Matt Damon. Here's a look back at 15 of the best movies from the prolific 80-year-old filmmaker.

Favorite Clint Eastwood Movies

'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' (1966)

Eastwood really made his name as an actor in the classic "spaghetti" Westerns, directed by Sergio Leone — and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is the best of them all.

'Play Misty for Me' (1971)

Before there was "Fatal Attraction," there was this sleepy little thriller, starring Jessica Walter as a mentally unstable woman who stalks Eastwood. This also marks Eastwood's directorial debut.

'Dirty Harry' (1971)

Eastwood played Det. Harry Callahan, San Francisco's toughest kickasser on the force, in several sequels — but it all started with "Dirty Harry."

'The Outlaw Josey Wales' (1976)

Eastwood continued to shine in the genre that made him a movie star, this time playing a Missouri farmer who joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.

'Pale Rider' (1985)

In yet another classic Eastwood Western, he directs and plays a mysterious preacher who protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.

'Bird' (1988)

As Eastwood first major film he directed without also starring in the film, "Bird" takes a look at the troubled life and career of the jazz saxophonist, Charlie "Bird" Parker (Forest Whitaker).

'Unforgiven' (1992)

This Best Picture winner is arguably the actor/director's best Western, his swan song to the genre, which also earned him an Oscar for Best Director.

'In the Line of Fire' (1993)

Eastwood does an excellent job as veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, who is haunted by President Kennedy's death, something he couldn't stop. Now, another clever assassin (John Malkovich) wants to take out the current president — and this Horrigan isn't going to let it happen.

'The Bridges of Madison County' (1995)

As a director and actor, Eastwood tries his hand at a romantic drama, playing photographer Robert Kincaid who wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), and for four days in the 1960s, they love a lifetime.

'Space Cowboys'(2000)

Eastwood directs himself again, portraying a retired engineer who is called upon to rescue a failing satellite but insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space. It's a good old hoot with co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner.

'Mystic River' (2003)

Eastwood continued to hone his directing chops with this adaptation of Dennis Lehane's gritty novel, guiding both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins to acting Oscars.

'Million Dollar Baby' (2004)

Eastwoods scores more Oscars — Best Picture and Director — with his look at a hardened trainer/manager who works with a determined woman (Hilary Swank) in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. Swank picked up the Best Actress award, while Morgan Freeman, as a gym worker, won Best Supporting Actor.

'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2006)

Clint decided to tell the story of the WWII battle at Iwo Jima from two perspectives — the American side in "Flags of Our Fathers" and the Japanese side in the more powerful Best Picture nominee "Letters from Iwo Jima."

'Gran Torino' (2008)

Actor/director Eastwood didn't make the Academy Award cut in 2008 with his "Gran Torino," but still delivered a powerful film on race relations. It also marks Eastwood last acting role,playing a disgruntled Korean War vet who forms a bond with his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal his prized possession — a 1972 Gran Torino.

'Invictus' (2009)

Eastwood directs his friend Morgan Freeman in another Oscar-nominated role as Nelson Mandela, who, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land by enlisting the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.